Pupil Development Grant: overview

The Pupil Development Grant (PDG) is funding given to schools and educational settings (settings). Settings include nurseries, pupil referral units, and home tuition.

PDG funding aims to raise the attainment of children and young people from low-income households. It does this by reducing the barriers that they often face to achieving their full potential. It is also given for care-experienced or looked after children (LAC). The PDG is a key resource for realising the Welsh Government’s ambition of high standards and aspirations for all.

The PDG is provided to schools and settings for children and young people aged 5 to 15. Use of the grant should focus on the following key areas:

• high-quality learning and teaching
• Community Focused Schools
• early childhood education and care
• high aspirations supported by strong relationships
• health and wellbeing
• leadership
• Curriculum for Wales and qualifications
• supporting post-16 progression

The Early Years PDG (EYPDG) gives similar support to children aged 3 and 4 in schools and nurseries. This funding is used to support:

• emotional and social wellbeing
• physical development
• speech, language and communication

The Welsh Government is working with schools, settings, local authorities and regional education consortia. Together we aim to find where funding can have the most benefit as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic and in light of cost-of-living challenges.

The amount of PDG and EYPDG funding given to local authorities, schools and settings is based on the number of:

• children and young people aged 5 to 15 in a school or setting (for example educated otherwise than at school (EOTAS) or pupil referral unit (PRU)) who are eligible for free school meals (eFSM) based on the latest school census (PLASC) data
• children and young people who are looked after, based on the Children Looked After Census
• children aged 3 to 4 in a school or non-maintained setting (for example nurseries) who are eligible for free school meals (eFSM) based on the latest school census (PLASC) data

Funding is given on a financial-year basis, based on the number of eligible children and young people. Funding is based on the criteria above, not academic ability.

Schools and settings

Schools and settings use the PDG funding for ‘whole-school approaches’. These approaches can benefit all of their children and young people. However they must support the needs of eligible learners in light of the disadvantage they face. Approaches can include:

• professional learning for teachers
• tailored learning and teaching interventions

School leaders can decide how to spend their PDG funding. However, they should ensure they plan and spend it in line with the terms and conditions of the grant.

PDG spend should focus particularly on:

• providing high-quality learning and teaching
• developing Community Focused Schools

EYPDG spend should have a particular focus on the importance of:

• emotional and social wellbeing
• physical development
• speech, language and communication

Further information for school leaders is available in our guidance on using the pupil development grant.

Regional education consortia and local authorities

Regional education consortia and local authorities are provided with a small amount of PDG funding. This is used to provide support and further resources to schools and settings in their use of PDG.

Regional education consortia and local authorities use their funding:

• to target further support at individual schools and settings
• for regional- or cluster-level activity (for example, professional learning for teachers)

They also manage the PDG funding given to local authorities and clusters of schools and settings for children and young people who are care-experienced. This is known as PDG-LAC.

Based on local needs, regional education consortia and local authorities can choose to:

• pass all the funding on to schools and clusters
• keep some of the funding for activities that will benefit a group of, or all of, the authority’s children and young people who are care-experienced
• keep parts of the funding to employ PDG-LAC Regional Coordinators

Regional education consortia and local authorities work with schools and settings to ensure the funding helps to achieve the outcomes in children and young people’s personal education plans.

Local authorities are also responsible for allocating the PDG funding for EYPDG and EOTAS. This role includes:

• engaging with childcare settings delivering funded nursery education (for example Cylch Meithrin or day nurseries)
• engaging with other settings (including pupil referral units (PRUs)) and education otherwise than at school (EOTAS)

Local authorities should ensure all who receive funds understand the PDG terms and conditions. This helps to ensure that PDG funding is spent on initiatives or support backed up by evidence for children and young people from low-income households and those who are care-experienced.

PDG Advisers and PDG-LAC Regional Coordinators have responsibility for a ‘consortia-led’ PDG allocation of funding.

PDG Advisers should provide robust, constructive challenge and high-quality support to enable school and setting leaders, as well as governing bodies, to improve the outcomes of children and young people from low-income households as well as children and young people who are care-experienced. This approach aims to:

• strengthen regional leadership arrangements
• ensure greater national consistency in supporting children and young people from low-income households and those who are care-experienced
• support our ability to gather evidence of impact

The PDG and EYPDG are available to schools and settings, at a rate of £1,150 per child, for:

• eFSM children and young people aged 5 to 15 in compulsory school years
• eFSM children aged 3 and 4 in schools or funded non-maintained settings (EYPDG)
• eFSM children and young people in PRUs or those who are EOTAS
• children and young people aged 3 to 15 who are care-experienced (PDG-LAC)

A breakdown of PDG allocations for each school or setting is available for 2023 to 2024.